Tag Archives: Christian Heroes: Then & Now

I will never forget when I was a young girl, I used to hear my Grandma sing: “Davy Crockett, King of the wild frontier.” Thanks to Ywam Publishing, and their Heroes of History series and UnitStudy Guides, I am able to teach my kids about Davy Crockett too.

Davy Crockett: Ever Westward 1786–1836 is a biography of David Crockett’s life from about the time he was 10 years of age until his death. It is written in an easy to understand way for people of all ages. It is recommended for students age 10 and older.

Table of Contents:

This book includes 17 chapters and suggested bibliography resources. Topics discussed in these chapters include: pioneer life, family relations, bullying, courting and marriage, forest, rivers, hunting for food, faith, education, Tennessee; Texas, militias, native American Indians, US House of Representatives, Texas Revolution, Battle of the Alamo, bushcrafting, woodsmanship, integrity, exploration conviction, hope, and determination to survive.

Below I have listed each chapter title and briefly summarized the first six chapters from the book for you to get a general idea of what we are learning about:

1. Across the World: This chapter we are introduced to a dreamer teenage boy named David who hopes to get a job as a cabin boy on a merchant ship that is hauling lumber and sailing from America to London.

2. Wilderness Life: This chapter we travel back in time to the early years of David’s life, from about 10 years of age, as his family moved to a couple locations in the state of Tennessee to set up their homestead life. After loosing their home and belongings and a grist mill they had built to a flood, they had to move again. In another location, they set up their home as a Tavern (with a bed and food and care of horses) for travelers. David is an excellent hunter and provides the homestead with meat. He also chops firewood, and does other chores around their pioneer life. He also takes care of the travelers horses getting them water, food, bedding, and cleaning the mud off the horses hair if needed.

3. A Hired Hand: David’s father sends him at age 12 to help one of the travelers take his wagon, horses, and cows 400 miles East to reach his homestead in Virginia. He has given up on the harsh Westward expansion and skirmishes with Indians and wants to return to farm life in Virginia. After David helps him to Virginia he is kept on to work for him as a hired hand according to an arrangement his father made and didn’t tell him about. During the winter, on his own, David up and leaves the “hired hand” job and makes his way back home.

4. The Runaway: David makes the long journey home. However, there are many changes including a new school with a dirt floor opens up nearby and all the Crockett boys are enrolled and their father paid for them to attend. David fights a school bully. David skips school and after several days his father finds out because the teacher updates his father. His dad confronts him on the trail near the woods as he tries to skip out again the next day. David runs off into the woods to avoid a spanking and being forced to return to school. David gets a job driving cattle to Virginia and then another job getting wagons of goods to Baltimore. He hopes to get a job as a cabin boy and sail the seas and see the world. But the driver of the wagons refuses to give him his pay and personal belongings, prevents him from boarding the ship, and forces him to continue working for him with the wagons.

5. The Return: The owner of the wagon train beat David with a whip in addition to preventing him from joining the ship as a cabin boy, and he forced him to continue on helping with the wagon trains. After several undeserved beatings, David escapes from the wagon train. He informs another wagon driver further back on the trail of what happened and this driver helps him confront the evil man and retrieve his clothes, though his money is lost forever. David eventually becomes an apprentice to a hat maker and spends 18 months (of a 4 year commitment) learning the trade of turning animal pelts (mainly beaver pelts) into processed felt to make custom hats. When his work ended, David was almost 16, and he was ready to see his family and make the long and dangerous journey walking over 400 miles back home. His family is glad to see him when he returns.

6. Free and Clear: David’s father asks him to work for his creditor (s) and pay of his debts. David agrees and works first for 6 months at a tavern (fetching water, chopping firewood, and serving the travelers) and later he worked 6 months more for a farmer doing various farm chores. In the end he had paid off both of his father’s debts. While working for the farmer, he listened to him read the bible out loud each day and was inspired to go back to school and learn to read and write. After the debts were paid off, he went back to work part time for the farmer and attended school. He was 18 years old, a grown man, and back in school. He had only had a few days of schooling in his youth before he left. Now he was determined to learn and he learned to read and write and do math computations using a handheld chalk board called a slate and later used a quill with ink. David falls in love with the wrong girl and it ends badly for him. At 19 years of age, he is not sure if he will ever find a wife.

7: Answering the Call:

8. Indian Country:

9. Wandering in the Wilderness:

10. Shoal Creek:

11. Gentleman from the Cane:

12. Rutherford Fork:

13. Down the River:

14. Congressman Crockett:

15. The Lion of the West:

16. On to Texas:

17. One Last Battle:

Bibliography: Suggested books to read about David Crockett’s life.

Downloadble Unit Study – Davy Crockett: Ever Westward

Digital Unit Study

76 Pages

72 Pages Instruction Guide

4 Pages Student Worksheets

Retail $9.99 On Sale $5.49

This digital unit study guide contains several guides and everything you need to teach the book as a stand alone course, or as part of a larger course, and has several helpful organized teaching tips if you need to meet certain learning standards. It also includes a 76 page unit study guide. The unit study has a printable part 1 and part 2. Part 2 is the same as Apendix C and contains the printable Social Studies Reproducibles. Additional bonus materials are also available.

There are lots of ways this unit study guide can enhance the learning of the material in the book. Unit studies are cross curricular. They blend a theme of a book, main character, or specific topic, with many subjects and cover the material from different angles and hands on exploration.

It is up to the parent or family to decide how many additional projects they want to include to expand the learning. Some folks may want to choose just a few projects to expand the learning, and other folks may want to choose lots of research projects, movies, field trips, arts and crafts. This unit study is flexible and can be adapted to what ever your family needs. It is a good idea to write down what activities you want to do and where in the learning adventure you want to fit them in.

Rather than just reading the book straight through, and being done in a day or few days, the Davy Crockett Unit Study Guide easily helps stretch the learning opportunity into as many weeks as desired. If you want it to last 17 days or about 3+ weeks, you could do a short unit study by reading a chapter and doing the related study questions each day. Or you could do a longer unit study and read a chapter, questions, and additional related projects per week. If you add in enough additional projects, books, field trips, etc, this unit study could possibly cover several months about 17 weeks (for 17 chapters). Or you could possibly make this study last a whole school year of learning around a specific theme. This unit study about Davy Crockett accommodates further studies and learning adventures in:

History
American Government
Geography
Vocabulary
Essay writing
Creative writing
Math
Science
Design
Research
Reading comprehension
Public speaking
Drama
Art
Life Skills
Bible
Character Development
and more…

Our Experience:

We received the book and the downloadable unit study guide in exchange for writing an honest review. We added several additional activities, field trips, and crafts to further facilitate this review and these added to the hands on learning experience. The pictures below are a brief summary of some of the learning adventures we have done so far.

Some of my family has read ahead, but most of us are reading 1 chapter a week aloud together as a family, and doing the suggested discussion questions in the unit study guide as well as several fun activities. We have been super busy with optional activities, and we are currently on Chapter 7 with another 10 chapters to go. Whew! It’s been a lot of fun so far!

My 13 year old son read the book cover to cover and couldn’t put it down. The book is a great read with lots of excitement. He loves adventures, hunting, history, and drama and has loved reading this book!

My 15 year old son is keeping pace with the rest of us. He trades the book off with me reading a chapter at a time. He also loves the wilderness, pioneers, farming, and responsibility. He is really enjoying this book and learning experience.

When he is finished reading a chapter, I read the book aloud to the rest of the family, including to my husband when possible. He wants me to read ahead to him, but I tell him he has to wait on the rest of us or read ahead on his own. He is enjoying hearing about Davy Crockett too.

Unit Study Guide Worksheets:

Beef Jerky:

Davy lived on smoked dried venison (deer jerky) and stewed venison (deer stew) during much of his life. Though he likely made his over a campfire or fireplace, we made beef jerky with a modern method by slicing the meat into strips, marinating in a combination of apple cider vinegar and spices, and drying on a dehydrator rack.

Firewood & Building Campfire & Cooking Outside:

The kids helped collect firewood and make a campfire in the back yard. The big boys have created two fire pits. One is surrounded with rocks and one fire pit area is surrounded with some old bricks we had on hand. I prefer using the one surrounded by brick when the younger kids are going to be sitting together, because it only has exposure to the fire on one side (the back and sides have brick) so it is easier to keep an eye on safety. The rock firepit is more rustic and manly used by the big boys, or occasionally a younger sibling will sit with them too. On the brick fire pit we put a cooking grill plate on top. Sometimes we use the plate to hold water for making tea, soup, steak, pancakes, or baking bread. The bricks help reflect heat for baking and to keep warm when it is a cold day or evening. After building the fire, the kids cooked beef hot dogs and sat by the fire late into the evening watching the embers glow. We are gathering recipes and ingredients and have plans to do a hole lot more outdoor cooking projects before our unit study is through.

Creek Exploration:

Davy crossed many creeks and rivers in his journeys.

River Exploration:

We did not try to cross a river, but we enjoyed going to the waters edge and making observations, and exploring the surrounding forest.

Wild Foraging – Edible Plants for Food and Medicine:

We collected several plants, ate some fresh in salad, dried some, and froze some for using in various ways such as sweet jams and home remedies. I wrote another post about this experience for this unit study.

Collecting Pine Buds, Pine Needles, and Pine Pollen.

Collecting Dandelion Flowers and Greens.

Collecting Rose Hips and checking on status of new wild roses about to bloom.

Collecting Fresh Wild Rose Petals

Collecting Mint.

I have a half barrel planter on the back porch filled with mint and flowers. It was perfect for my youngest son to practice his harvesting skills.

Hunting Archery Practice:

Dad helped all of the kids practice shooting a long bow. It shoots with about 25lbs of pressure, much less than the larger versions. I found this smaller long bow at the sporting goods store for about $20 and it came with three arrows and a quiver too. We picked up some extra arrows to practice with. It worked out great.

Gold Rush Investigations:

We took a trip to see a real gold town that was part of the Westward Expansion and gold rush of the early 1800’s in North Carolina.

Candle Making:

The kids practiced making candles outside. They melted wax and dipped cotton string into it and hung it up to dry.

My oldest son also made another version of a bushcraft candle with a match wrapped in paper (paper towels or toilet paper work great) and dipped into wax. These waxed candle matches are used to start campfires because they burn a long time like a candle.

Leather Working:

The older boys made a leather bag from cow hide and gave it to Dad for his birthday. Several months ago, Dad helped one of the boys make a bag and a sheath. Now that same boy taught his brother how to make a leather bag for dad. I will post additional stories about these projects, but here are a few pictures.

The boys also enlisted Dad’s help to make a knife sheath. This project isn’t finished yet.

The younger kids also made a Native American style leather bag. We bought leather shamios for cleaning cars. These were 3′ x 3′ size leather hides available at most local stores that were tanned with cod oil, and they were $8 a piece. They are a lot thinner than the cow leather the older boys use to creating sheaths and bags with, but they were softer for younger kids to handle and more affordable. We bought three for the younger kids to practice making pioneer and Native American Indian related crafts with.

So far, they learned to make a leather bag and decorate it with beads.

Here is big brother helping little brother with this project. They made a paper template and then traced it onto the leather before cutting it out.

They used several tools to create this leather project.

Then end product is adorable. They sewed it by hand. The sides are stiched in two rows and they left a flap for the lid. They attached a tassel and beads for decoration. This bag will hold herbs, jerkey, and lots of different things.We will be making more crafts with these pieces of leather as we continue the unit study.

Movies:

We have had a few movie nights. We sat down together including all of the kids and my husband and watched a few episodes of Davy Crockett from the TV series in the 1960’s.

We have also watched several documentaries for movie night that were fantastic!

We also watched a pioneer and native American Indian movie and plan to see a few more with this theme.

These movies really peaked everyone’s interest and they have all been so attentive to listen to the book and learn more. We have had so much fun!

Davy Crockett and the Alamo Documentary – Battle of the Alamo – The Incredible Journey

Follow the River (shares many of the same topics of pioneers, farming, exploration and Westward Expansion, trade, and hunter gatherers, strained relations with Native American Indians).

Building Diarama’s and Story Telling:

The kids have had a ton of fun creating with Legos, Lincoln logs, Popsicle sticks and retelling the stories from Davy Crockett’s life. They used many of these creations to decorate their display table.

Display Table:

The kids set up a display table in the living room. They will continue to add to the display as we go through the chapters of the book and unit study. We need a bigger table!

Lapbook:

We also made Davy Crockett themed lapbook notebooks.

I used the worksheets from the downloadable Unit Study Guide as the foundation (biography page, timeline, maps), and then added a lot of history minibooks, worksheets, vocabulary, coloring pages, and more.

To make the lapbook notebooks, I took several file folders, cut them in half along the seam, then hole punched them and inserted them into 3 ring binders for each of the kids. This makes a handy way to store all of their written projects, a nice keepsake of their learning adventure, and a visual way to share what they have learned with others.

So far we have made lapbook folder pages Davy Crockett, pioneer life including vocabulary, Conestoga wagons, care of horses, plants and animals found in the forest and midwest, one on the state of Tennessee (flags, animals, birds, trees, symbols, etc), one on modes of transportation during this time in history (wagons, horses, walking, boat, etc), a lapbook folder page on the sate of Texas (flags, animals, birds, trees, symbols, etc), and then one on the Alamo that includes a minibook of the mission where the battle took place, people, and the history.

Future Plans:

I haven’t figured out all of the additional activities we will do to further the learning with the unit study, but a few will include:

primitive skills kits (I purchased making birch bark baskets, learning to make cordage from plants, and learning to make various survival traps)

quilting

embroidery

how to: knot tying

plant, tend, and harvest a garden

visit a living history farm

ride in a horse drawn wagon

ride a horse

ride in a boat

sketch a log cabin scene

sketch or paint a forest or river scene

visit the Cherokee Indian Reservation

visit the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina & Tennessee

visit the Smoky mountains of Tennessee

visit a grist mill

make homemade butter

cook deer stew and johnny cakes

make dandelion jam

make dried mint for tea

make a plantain healing salve

make homemade soap

wash clothes outside and hang them from tree to dry

learn to make felt from sheep wool

learn to make ink and write with a quill pen

camp overnight outside

go fishing for dinner

target practice with muzzle loader and sling shot (we did this last year when we studied about Daniel Boone and plan to do it again).

target practice with tomahawk and throwing knives.

This unit study project is a work in progress, as we are still working through the book and unit study and creating lapbook notebooks while adding more activities and field trips as we go. We will continue on learning with this through out the rest of the spring and summer.

HEROES OF HISTORY

Heroes of History covers 7 periods of American History. Using Ywam Heroes of History books can help parents and teachers encourage and expand a students understanding of history and the people who helped make it happen.

The Beginnings of a Nation (4 books)

The Establishment of a Nation (3 books)

The Exploration of a Nation (3 books)

The Fracturing of a Nation (3 books)

The Growth of a Nation (3 books)

The Inspiration of a Nation (4 books)

The Future of a Nation (5 books)

Ywam Publishing continues to add more books to their Heroes of History series. They currently have 29 books that make a great edition to every homeschool family’s library. This is a biography series of true stories of men and women who changed the course of history for the better.

Heroes of History series has 29 books. Here are their titles listed in alphabetical order:

Abraham Lincoln: A New Birth of Freedom

Alan Shepard: Higher and Faster

Ben Carson: A Chance at Life

Benjamin Franklin: Live Wire

Benjamin Rush: The Common Good

Billy Graham: America’s Pastor

Christopher Columbus: Across the Ocean Sea

Clara Barton: Courage Under Fire

Daniel Boone: Frontiersman

Davy Crockett: Ever Westward

Douglas MacArthur: What Greater Honor

Elizabeth Fry: Angel of Newgate

Ernest Shackleton: Going South

George Washington: True Patriot

George Washington Carver: From Slave to Scientist

Harriet Tubman: Freedombound

John Adams: Independence Forever

John Smith: A Foothold in the New World

Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Storybook Life

Louis Zamperini: Redemption

Meriwether Lewis: Off the Edge of the Map

Milton Hershey: More Than Chocolate

Orville Wright: The Flyer

Ronald Reagan: Destiny at His Side

Theodore Roosevelt: An American Original

Thomas Edison: Inspiration and Hard Work

William Bradford: Plymouth’s Rock

William Penn: Liberty and Justice for All

William Wilberforce: Take Up the Fight

They also have another Biography series called Christian Heroes: Then & Now that covers a lot more than American History, World History, World Geography, and the spread of the Christian Faith worldwide. A portion of every sale at Ywam Publishing goes to help Ywam Missions spread the gospel around the world. They have a total of 47 books in this series so far.

Adoniram Judson: Bound for Burma

Amy Carmichael: Rescuer of Precious Gems

Betty Greene: Wings to Serve

Brother Andrew: God’s Secret Agent

Cameron Townsend: Good News in Every Language

Charles Mulli: We are Family

Clarence Jones: Mr. Radio

Corrie ten Boom: Keeper of the Angels’ Den

Count Zinzendorf: First Fruit

C.S. Lewis: Master Storyteller

C.T. Studd: No Retreat

David Bussau: Facing the World Head-on

David Livingstone: Africa’s Trailblazer

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: In the Midst of Wickedness

D.L Moody: Bringing Souls to Christ

Elisabeth Elliot: Joyful Surrender

Eric Liddell: Something Greater Than Gold

Florence Young: Mission Accomplished

Francis Asbury: Circuit Rider

George Müller: The Guardian of Bristol’s Orphans

Gladys Aylward: The Adventure of a Lifetime

Hudson Taylor: Deep in the Heart of China

Ida Scudder: Healing Bodies, Healing Hearts

Isobel Kuhn: On the Roof of the World

Jacob DeShazer: Forgive Your Enemies

Jim Elliot: One Great Purpose

John Flynn: Into the Never Never

John Newton: Change of Heart

John Wesley: The World His Parish

John Williams: Messenger of Peace

Jonathan Goforth: An Open Door in China

Klaus-Dieter John: Hope in the Land of the Incas

Lillian Trasher: The Greatest Wonder in Egypt

Loren Cunningham: Into All the World

Lottie Moon: Giving Her All for China

Mary Slessor: Forward Into Calabar

Mildred Cable: Through the Jade Gate

Nate Saint: On a Wing and a Prayer

Paul Brand: Helping Hands

Rachel Saint: A Star in the Jungle

Richard Wurmbrand: Love Your Enemies

Rowland Bingham: Into Africa’s Interior

Samuel Zwemer: The Burden of Arabia

Sundar Singh: Footprints Over the Mountains

Wilfred Grenfell: Fisher of Men

William Booth: Soup, Soap, and Salvation

William Carey: Obliged to Go

These books and corresponding UnitStudy Guides from Ywam Publishing are wonderful. There is a huge variety of people and topic options to learn about. Here is a sneak peak of a few of the unit study guides, but be sure to check out their website for more.

Social Media

Be sure to check out Ywam Publishing on their social media links for all the latest news, products, and great tips on using various products they have to offer to enhance your student’s learning.

Heroes of History

Heroes of History has 28 books in the series. It is a biography series of true stories of men and women who changed the course of history for the better.

Heroes of History series of 28 books includes:

Abraham Lincoln: A New Birth of Freedom
Alan Shepard: Higher and Faster
Ben Carson: A Chance at Life
Benjamin Franklin: Live Wire
Billy Graham: America’s Pastor
Christopher Columbus: Across the Ocean Sea
Clara Barton: Courage Under Fire
Daniel Boone: Frontiersman
Davy Crockett: Ever Westward
Douglas MacArthur: What Greater Honor
Elizabeth Fry: Angel of Newgate
Ernest Shackleton: Going South
George Washington: True Patriot
George Washington Carver: From Slave to Scientist
Harriet Tubman: Freedombound
John Adams: Independence Forever
John Smith: A Foothold in the New World
Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Storybook Life
Louis Zamperini: Redemption
Meriwether Lewis: Off the Edge of the Map
Milton Hershey: More Than Chocolate
Orville Wright: The Flyer
Ronald Reagan: Destiny at His Side
Theodore Roosevelt: An American Original
Thomas Edison: Inspiration and Hard Work
William Bradford: Plymouth’s Rock
William Penn: Liberty and Justice for All
William Wilberforce: Take Up the Fight

Heroes of History-Daniel Boone

Paperback

224 Pages

19 Chapters

Ages 10 and up

Retail: $9.99 on sale for $7.50

Daniel Boone was a Frontiersman who lived from 1734 to 1820. The stories in this book include events in his life in North Carolina, Kentucky, Louisiana and some of the many places (Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Missouri, etc) he journeyed in-between. The book follows Boone from childhood into manhood as he sets out to find his own land and build a life for his family, and latter events in adulthood and the lives of his grown children and even covers his peaceful death in his daughter’s home. The death’s of several of his children both in their youth and adulthood as well as the death of friends and his wife is also shared. Through out his life he helped many other settlers too. He was very talented, a great hunter, trapper, and a master of survival skills. He also had incredible courage and lived through many dangerous situations in the wilderness, as well as living through attacks by soldiers, and being taken captive by Indians. He learned to survey land and helped develop huge regions of American wilderness.

Unit Study

In addition to these wonderful books, YWAM Publishing has also produced downloadable Unit Study guides for the Heroes of History stories.

These Unit Study Guides provide a wonderful curriculum option for families. They are flexible and can be adjusted to suit the skill levels of kids, and the different opportunities and resources families have for hands on learning.

The unit study is filled with loads of fun activities. This curriculum is engaging and peeks kids interest with related history, geography, writing, culture and arts, and more woven throughout the books. Kids can be hands on with Heroes of History Unit Studies and experience an important piece of the past!

The Unit Study guide contains discussion questions and answer key, teaching tips, hands on learning of various topics, and several PDF printables for kids to complete such as:

cross word puzzles,

biographical fact sheet,

hidden word puzzles,

historical time line,

maps,

and more.

Some of the hands on learning topics the Unit Study guide covers includes:

Chapter Questions / Reading Comprehension and Discussion: There are six questions related to each chapter covering vocabulary, facts in the text, comprehension of story, and opinion interpretation.

Arts and Crafts: make a fort, make a banner-plaque-or sign with a famous quote, make a bound book, make a Boone family tree, draw a riffle and lable it’s parts, and give a demonostration how it works, create clay replica’s of animal tracks, sew an apron from a pattern, make a braided rug like the settlers, create your own beadwork like Native American wampum, etc.

Food: learn about wild food, make beef jerky,

Field Trip: visit a location, a carreer, or a factory related to Boone’s life in someway (a town where he traveled or lived, visit a farm, visit a reservation where Native American’s live or have a museum, visit a blacksmith shop, walk through a forest or go on a nature walk, talk to a surveyor or governor or road worker, a rifle manufacture, a hunter, a tanner, etc), visit a museum with displays from Boone’s life or time in history, also suggests if you can’t schedule a field trip or an interview or meeting with someone then plan an online virtual field trip or watch related videos.

Survival Skills : learn tracks and habits of various animals, go on a nature walk, spend time in a forest, go camping, learn to use a knife and a rifle, learn to weave, learn to use various tools used by Boone and settlers and the Native American Indians.

Creative Writing: journals, poems, letters, songs, make a pamphlet that could be used to attract workers to the Wilderness Road project, etc.

Public Speaking

Drama/Audio Video: create a business presentation for the creation of the Wilderness Road project, create a mock website for a general store with 1780’s products, write and act out a play of Daniel Boone’s life,

Suitable for the whole family.

Our Experience:

We were sent a paperback copy of Heroes of History-Daniel Boone and the online downloadable Unit Study guide. I asked my reluctant reader to give this book a try because I felt the outdoorsman/woodsman nature of Daniel Boone would appeal to him. Daniel Boone is such an interesting character.

My 14 year old son would much rather spend time outdoors learning about nature and the bush, than spend his time indoors reading. He does enjoy reading about various hunting, truck, and car reviews. But to get him to like reading a book is a big stretch. It is just not his thing. So I decided that maybe he would enjoy reading outdoors in his element. He has a campsite in the backyard that he made himself. He eventually hopes to put up a hammock, but for now, he is quite happy with it. I sent him out with the book to see if he would enjoy reading the first chapter.

The story of Daniel Boone appealed to him and this worked out perfectly! He read enough on that first setting to peak his interest and has read a chapter at a time. He has enjoyed reading in the van, on errands where there is nothing else to do, and he read some on his bed too which he seldom ever enjoys doing. I am very thankful he enjoyed this book. If you want to get a reluctant reader to read, find a subject that appeals to them and an environment they enjoy, and you just might find a solution!

Unit Study

My kids enjoyed this Unit Study very much. But even more so is the effort put in by our reluctant reader.

I was really pleased with his efforts and he didn’t flinch when I asked him questions about wheat he read and gave him assignments to complete.

Activities:

We participated in several fun activities during this Daniel Boone Unit Study adventure:

Survival Remedies:

Learn about wild medicine plants that were used to treat illnesses in the 1700’s and 1800’s. For this we looked up plants online and in our handy field guide and went outside to see if we could find some of them. We use essential oils made from a variety of plants for many applications. We plan to make some tinctures and salves soon.

Plantain

Rose

Wild Strawberry

Pine

Clover

Dandelion

Survival Food:

Gather foods outdoors:

Some of the wild foods that we are able to find and some foods we can prepare with these wild plants around our yard and the edge of the woods during this unit study included pine needle tea, pine pollen and pine buds, honey suckle tea and jam, wild strawberry tea and jam, wild rose tea and rose petal jam, dandelion tea, dandelion coffee, dandelion salad, wild lettuce salad, wild grape leaves, wild onions, and wild garlic. Later this summer we will be able to find wild amaranth, mint, wild elderberry, wild chicory root, walnuts, hickory nuts, pine nuts, cat tails, etc.

When Daniel lived, folks depended on their gardens and hunting to survive. Some people had a few farm animals too, but many people did not have an abundance of animals or foods. Hunting was difficult and not everyone had access to meat all the time. If they didn’t grow their own food, then they would have to gather what wild food they could find to survive. The kids decided to make a meal from what they went out and gathered outdoors. They gathered various greens and onion tops from the spring garden they planted. Then they washed the greens and cut everything into small pieces.

Next they added water, salt, and seasonings and let it simmer for about twenty minutes. The soup turned out delicious!

This was a valuable lesson for the kids. If folks had other ingredients on hand, they would have certainly added them. Foods such as potatoes, rice, dumplings, corn meal, butter, milk, cheese, edible mushrooms, or fresh or dried meat or fish would definitely increase the nutritional value of a soup like this. I would encourage others to choose a source of protein, fat, and additional carbs to add in to your soup so it is more filling and satiating. Serving it with a slice of homemade bread and butter or biscuits and jam would also help round out this meal. Bannock is similar to Indian Fry Bread or Flat Bread and would have been eaten with a soup like this. But if you only had edible greens and herbs you gathered to put in this soup, you would still have the basics of many essential vitamins and minerals to help keep you nourished and survive.

Bannock

Bannock is basically campfire bread. It is easy to make and take on the go or cook on the campfire. Bannock is similar to Indian Fry Bread or Flat Bread. You can add baking powder (or buttermilk) if you want it to rise a little of the consistency of a pancake but this step isn’t necessary.

We made our bannock version in the style of THIN UNLEAVENED BREAD. Bannock or thin bread is made by mixing flour, oil, water, and salt together, let the dough rest a while. Then flatten it with your hands or a rolling pin and cook on a preheated skillet or rock over a fire or the stove for a few minutes until it turns golden. Then we added some optional dried raisins, cranberries, and cinnamon. You can leave this bread plain or you can add any dried berries or herbs / spices you think will taste good.

Some people also wrap the dough around a stick and cook the bannock over the campfire. It can be used as a bread, or as a crust for pizza and or as a pie type shell, cut into strips or squares and used a dumplings in broth, or use the bannock dough filled with other delicious ingredients before baking or frying.

The kids loved making these and they tasted delicious.

Gathering Firewood:

The boys looked for downed limbs for fire wood over the past several weeks and made quite a pile. Then they used a saw and hatchet to cut the wood into small pieces for their camp fires.

Archery and Knife Survival Skills:

Learn to sharpen and use knives with a sharpening stone and leather, cut with knives, and whittle wood with knives. All six of the kids learned these skills.

Learn to throw knives and become efficient to use in hunting.

Throwing knives is a lot of fun. The boys read books and watched videos on how to do this and dad helped them build a standing target board to throw at. All three of the older boys practiced learning knife skills.

Learn to use a sling shot archery for hunting food and self defense. We plan to get a long bow soon and we also plan to make a homemade bow.

Our 12 year old son has already created a wooden spear with his knife and a tree limb, practices throwing it, and takes it on walks in the woods.

He has started making his long bow. He chose a birch limb for his long bow and debarked it and shaped it, but he didn’t get it completely finished for this unit study. He is looking forward to practicing with this bow when it is done.

We have a cross bow the kids have practiced with before, but we didn’t get it out for this unit study either.

For now, the kids practiced using a sling shot and hitting a target in the hopes that one day if needed they could hunt a small animal or a bird for food.

They really enjoyed practicing these skills.

Learn to weave or braid with cordage:

We got a book and learning cards on how to tie various kinds of knots and what situations they are used for. We also watched a video on how to make our own cordage with various plants and tree bark and use that to make a mat or rug for the floor or to sleep on.

The kids also used para-cordage and learned to make survival bracelets and handles for tools. They learned how to store a lot of cord that can be used for survival purposes in a simple bracelet they can wear.

They made several useful items for all three older boys and mom and dad. We plan to learn to braid a rug and weave a fabric mat, learn to harvest and use cordage made from plants and tree bark, as well as make more items with paracords in the near future. I hope to get the kids an inexpensive paracord jig loom soon too. Also the oldest son has requested a larger loom that he can practice making rugs and fabrics with. He would also like to learn to make yarn from animal fur and learn to weave it into fabric too.

FORTS:

Learn How to Make a Model Fort with paper & hot glue and with sticks and hot glue.

Field trip to see a fort (scheduled for June). We plan to take a trip to see a real fort from the 1700’s. We stopped in to see one in May during this study but they were closed so we didn’t get any pictures. We have visited three different forts in South Carolina a few years ago. Then about six months ago, we also visited a 1700’s fort in North Carolina along the coast that dates to the Revolutionary War with the British and an 1800’s fort from the Civil War. These field trips are something our family enjoys doing together.

My 12 year old son went out and found a branch he felt would make a good fort. After looking at forts on the computer, he designed a blue print on paper with his measurements and a ruler. Then he went outside and got busy cutting his wood to the exact lengths he wanted to build a fort to scale.

Next he hot glued the pieces together and as of this time of writing this review he has only finished one wall so far.

I will post a story about his fort and several other things all of the kids learn to make using inspiration from this unit study in future stories.

Rifle Skills:

The older three boys learned about using a muzzle loader, and all the kids had the opportunity to practice shooting with a BB gun.

Daniel Boone used a Flint Rock muzzle loader rifle. We researched these rifles online. We didn’t have access to this style of rifle, but we did have access to a center fire muzzle loader rifle and the kids got to learn how to use it.

Dad was given this rifle as a gift many years ago before we had kids. He used to hunt deer with this gun. It hadn’t been used in many years because he had left it with a relative when we moved years ago, and they recently gave it back to him. So this was the kid’s first experience learning about a muzzle loader.

One big difference in this gun and the one Daniel Boone used is that instead of firing with flint, this muzzle loader uses a cap.

Dad taught the kids how to add black powder, load the musket ball, tamp it down, put in the cap, aim, and shoot at a target.

They wore ear plugs and were surprised how loud this gun was. It also leaves behind a small cloud of smoke after it fires just like the guns in the old days did. Dad said you only get one chance to get a deer with this gun because if you miss, the sound alone will scare them far away.

The muzzle loader rifle literally sounds like a cannon going off. It is hard for me to grasp how Daniel Boone and men of the past lived with a muzzle loader gun as their means for hunting and self defense and fought with it in wars. Muzzle loaders in my opinion take so much extra effort to lug around (the powder, the ammo, tampers, and the heavy gun), in addition to the extra steps to load the powder and ammo, and the loud incredible “BOOM!” it creates. However, my husband and sons think it is great!

Daniel Boone and his family lived such an interesting life! They exemplify the life and challenges many of the early settlers faced. It took sheer courage for the pioneers and explorers to survive the dangers of the wilderness, war, setting up homesteads, growing crops, and the numerous almost daily altercations with wild animals and people during this time in history.

This is a fun book and unit study. It is interesting to read and a testimony of human strength and courage. I would encourage homeschool families to pick up a copy and enjoy this learning journey!

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The Heroes of History series contains approximately 20 volumes of fascinating history of real life heroes. Some of the great men and women covered in these books includes the lives of: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, Billy Graham, Christopher Columbus, Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Ben Carson, Laura Ingles Wilder, etc.

Heroes of History are ordinary men and women (many who faced poverty and disadvantages in their youth), who over came challenging circumstances and changed the course of American History.

Heroes Of History

Billy Graham

Paperback Book

208 pages

Ages 10+

Retails for $9.99 and is on sale for $7.50

This book covers the story of Billy Grahams Life including his youth, his acceptance of Christ as his savior, his family, and life long ministry as a world wide evangelist.

Unit Study Guide Cover

Unit Study Curriculum Guide

PDF e-Book

Retails for $9.99 and on sale for $7.49

This unit study guide corresponds with the paperback book. It provides structured questions, vocabulary words, and activities for each chapter to help the student dig deeper into the story. It also contains the answer key and a few printables such as maps, a timeline, and a fact sheet about his life.

Unit Study Table of Contents

How We Used This Product In Our Home

We were sent the Heroes Of History paperback book and the corresponding Unit Study Curriculum Guide to review in our home. This curriculum is filled with fascinating stories about Billy Graham’s life. He is considered “America’s Pastor” and is loved by millions of people in America and around the world.

Billy Graham (source Unit Study Guide)

There are so many details from his life that you just have to read the book for yourself to grasp the big picture, but I think this sums up this amazing journey: Billy grew up on a dairy farm in North Carolina. God took him on a life long journey from those humble beginnings to become an evangelist who has preached in 185 countries reaching over 200 million people with the message about Jesus Christ and eternal salvation. It is amazing how God used a farm boy in an amazing way to expand his Kingdom.

My children are enjoying learning about Billy Graham’s adventures growing up and his life working for the Kingdom. The story starts our when he is about 12 years of age and goes through many of his memories growing up and my son was hooked to read about his boyhood.

The unit study guide contained about 5 printables (located in section 2) and the rest was of the guide (section 1) was structured questions about each chapter in the book and a few activity ideas. We liked a couple of activity ideas in the guide such as creating an itinerary for Billy Graham’s Travels and computing costs for airfare and travel etc. And an idea to watch one of his speeches from the 1960’s and compare it to a speech from the 1990’s for example and see any changes in his presentation of his message. Also an idea to learn one of his speeches and then repeat it yourself as a speech was a cool idea. But otherwise, the guide really needs some tweaking and some fun activities added for kids. So my suggestion to other families would be to come up with your own activity ideas to make this part of the learning fun.

Fact sheet from unit study guide.

My Personal Experience with Billy Graham

When I was about 13 years old, I went to a Billy Graham crusade in Kansas City, KS. It was life changing for me. I dedicated my whole heart to Jesus that night. I sat on the edge of my seat in a huge stadium filled with people and knew Mr. Graham was speaking just to me. I had given my heart to the Lord when I was 8 and was baptized with water at the Open Door Baptist Church. When I was about 11, my father’s church felt I needed re-baptized “into” their church, the Church of Christ. Not much changed for me at that time, other than earnestly seeking God as my home life was not so great. But when I was 13, and sincerely seeking God for answers in my life, I met a man who had the answers. His name was Billy Graham. He had a confidence and an assurance of who God is that I had never seen or heard in any man. That night I went forward at the Billy Graham Crusade and dedicated my whole heart to the Lord, I was filled with a fire for God. A passion. It was life changing for me and I never doubted my salvation or God’s love and his hand on my life ever since. He has guided me and held me close and watched over me and I love him more than life itself.

I know there are millions of people like myself that God placed Billy Graham in our path. He has been a blessing to me. When we lived in North Carolina, we lived about 40 minutes from Mr. Graham’s campus near Asheville, NC. If you are ever in the area, I encourage you to go and visit the museum and campus. His son carries on the ministry’s vision today and runs a world wide outreach that is the hands and feet of Jesus meeting the real needs of people called Samaritans Purse. If you are looking for a ministry to pray for, financially support, or volunteer with, please put this one at the top of your list!

Thank you Mr. Graham for your obedience and dedication to obey Jesus and share the message of the Kingdom of God with me.

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BIO

I am a sinner, saved by grace. I am on a journey and offer to share my story with the hope that it will bless you. My one desire is to bring glory to my creator.

I am a wife and the mother of six children, plus two in heaven. I enjoy homeschooling, research, teaching, homesteading, natural gardening, grass based farming, cooking, fresh raw milk, herbs, children, midwifery, and music. I am a writer, biblical mentor, and also work part time in the healthy foods and vitamin business www.weisernaturalfoods.com I have a BSW degree from Kansas State University, and trained professionally as a medical social worker, biblical counselor, tutor, and vocal performer.

Thank you for stopping by to read about our homeschool and family life adventures. Be blessed!